Friday will see the release of Paramount Pictures’ Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the long overdue horror-action meant to be an exaggerated continuation of the Brothers Grimm fairytale. While it is not unheard of for films to be pushed back - for any number of reasons - there is typically a press release detailing the studio’s decision to do so; Paramount said very little about relocating Hansel & Gretel from March of 2012 to January 2013, leaving the web to speculate all on its own. What do movie nerds theorize about this incident?
Buried in the Dumping Ground
The most popular rumor is the film is simply no good, and Paramount Pictures knows it. The first leg of the cinematic year is often referred to as “The Dumping Ground:” when studios put out films they have little faith in, and what they don’t expect to make a notable return on. The hole in this theory is that Witch Hunters’ initial release date was set at the tail-end of 2012’s Dumping Ground. This raises speculation again that Paramount is dreading this release so much, that they needed to dump it off as earlier in the year as possible – in fact, it was scheduled for January 11th, but was pushed back again to the 25th mysteriously.
Shooting Star
Even though the film’s leading actor, Jeremy Renner had started accumulating popularity in 2008’s The Hurt Locker, and picked up more notoriety with The Town, Paramount didn’t snag him until his cameo in Thor and supporting role in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011). Rumor suggests Paramount decided to wait until after more promising, summer releases in 2012 {The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy} featuring Renner to hand over Hansel & Gretel, with hopes to attract audiences using his every growing fame.
Vampires Vs Witches
A third rumor is Paramount declined to compete with 20th Century Fox’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June, 2012). Vampire Hunter was adapted from a 2010 novel that had already sprouted a cult following, and was projected to perform relatively well at the box office. Releasing Witch Hunters after Vampire Hunter might be an attempt to latch onto the popularity of Fox’s gamble.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters opens tomorrow in Chicago
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